Syllabuses

Overview

Within the Breakroom for Training system, a syllabus is broadly considered to be an 'activity' like waivers and quizzes. However, syllabuses can draw upon those other activities as part of a larger program of instruction, allowing stakeholders to create standardized, semi-automated content modules. These modules can include on-screen annotations and other messages, timers, camera effects, media cues, the execution of custom Lua scripts, and more.

Student-led vs. Instructor-led courses

A syllabus can be designated as student-led or Instructor-led. These can be considered synonymous with “single user” and “multi-user," as in:

• A student-led syllabus is controlled by and only impacts the user running it.

• An instructor-led syllabus is controlled by anyone logged in as an Instructor, while everyone else is a passive participant. Any actions executed by Instructor-led syllabus will impact all users in the Region.

Key features

The purpose of a syllabus is to create a structured, guided way for students to experience the course content, and offers the following key features:

• Consistency: Regardless of who takes the course, or who teaches it, the content and lesson plan remain the same for each student.

• Onboarding: Syllabuses simplify onboarding of new Instructors and students to the platform. An Instructor who is competent with the material being presented can quickly guide students through the course using the syllabus widget.

• Completion: Tracking who has finished a syllabus to the end allows stakeholders to evaluate student progress and see whether they have completed the required materials.

• Resiliency: Instructors have the ability to resume classes from any point if the material cannot be completed in a single session. Student-led courses automatically pick up where the student left off if they need to step away.

Building a syllabus

Building a syllabus on the Breakroom for Training system is a multi-step process. In the following sections, we will begin by exploring the Dashboard interface and its related control panels, breaking down the creation of syllabus steps and actions in clear terms. We will then create a simple custom syllabus as a tutorial example.

Dashboard interface tour

Adding a syllabus

Breakroom for Training course content is created and managed through the Dashboard. To add a syllabus to any of your existing courses, follow these steps.

1. Navigate to your Dashboard.

2. Click on the Learning Management tab, then click on the course you would like to edit.

3. Click the Create button in the top right corner, and select Syllabus from the drop-down menu.

4. Enter a name and description for your syllabus.

1. Click the Syllabus Type toggle to indicate whether you would like the syllabus to be Instructor-led or student-led.

2. If you like, you can change the syllabus header by following these steps:

   1. Click the vertical ellipses icon in the upper right corner, and then click Upload Background Image.

   2. Click the Upload Image button to add an image to launch a standard file selection window on your computer. Select the image you want to use, and click Okay.

   3. Alternately, click the "Select from Our Course Image Templates" link to choose a basic color or generic image.

3. When you are satisfied with your changes, click the Next button.

Once your syllabus is created, you'll be directed to the Syllabus editing panel. Here you will see Steps on the left, and Actions and Annotations for each step on the right. We will review these features in more detail in the following sections.

Editing a syllabus

Similar to a waiver or quiz, creating a syllabus will add a syllabus card to the main course screen. In the top right corner of each syllabus card, you'll see a vertical ellipses icon. Clicking on this will open a menu containing editing functions. Here's an overview of the associated UI.

Steps and actions

When editing and executing a syllabus, everything revolves around steps. A syllabus contains one or more steps that must be completed to finish the syllabus. The current limit for this is 150 maximum steps.

Each step also contains actions. A step will have at least one action associated with it, but can have more actions if desired. The current limit is 10 actions per step. All actions execute on each step in the order they are arranged on the Dashboard.

Steps can also include annotations. Annotations consist of information that is displayed on-screen, and can be any combination of text, an image, and a link that opens in an external browser tab. There are separate annotations available for students and Instructors. Instructors can see student annotations if present, but students will never see Instructor annotations.

Action types

All actions execute on each step in the order they are arranged on the Dashboard. Annotations are displayed alongside the first action listed under any given step, and will not be dismissed until the next step is triggered.

The following actions are possible for any given step. Please note that some of these actions require advanced working knowledge of Breakroom customization, including custom scripting.

Change Camera

If the user is seated in a Region that contains a camera system, this action will automatically adjust their camera view as if they had pressed the corresponding button. Users can change it back at any time, as the camera is not locked to this view.

Fields and options

• Camera Perspective: Choose from Behind, Forward, Speaker, Screen, Audience, and Free Look

Custom Function

This action executes a custom Lua function in the Region. This requires that the course designer has placed their own Lua script in the Region with a registered Space.Shared function call that matches the supplied parameters. A Lua script in the Region can do anything the Breakroom SDK allows. Altering UIs, changing the environment and lighting, adding new objects, moving objects around, playing games, animating models or custom camera views, etc.

Fields and options

• Channel: The channel parameter provided to Space.Shared.CallBroadcastFunction.

• Command: The command parameter provided to Space.Shared.CalBroadcastFunction.

• Parameters (Optional): Any extra info to pass to the Space.Share.CallBroadcastFunction call. This can be simple strings, or anything up to including encoded JSON information.

• Along with the above information, the Lua script will receive a variety of metadata including:

  • Whether the syllabus is Instructor-led

  • The ID of the syllabus that called it

  • The ID of the course that called it

  • The current step number

  • A force parameter that translates to “override the ‘already done’ parameter”

  • An already done parameter which indicates if this step is being repeated (i.e., perhaps you don’t want to do a repeated step exactly the same as you did the first time)

  • Whether the current user is in control of the syllabus (i.e., the Instructor in an Instructor-led course, versus being a student)

Draw Attention

This action visually indicates a UI button to call student attention to it. This can be useful for orientation periods at the beginning of a class, or to remind students during Q&A periods about the location of the Raise Hand and Question buttons.

Fields and options

• UI Element: Choose from Microphone, Webcam, Screenshare, Troubleshooting, Ask Question, Emojis, or Raise Hand

Participation Level

Changes the voice chat and audience participation settings on the current voice zone occupied by the person controlling the syllabus. These zone settings are persistent, so they will remain in the last setting chosen until they are changed through the Moderator tools crowd manager interface or a subsequent syllabus step.

Fields and options

• Permission:

  • Quiet: Enables Quiet Mode, disables Audience Mode

  • Voice Only: Disables Quiet Mode, disables Audience Mode

  • Full: Disables Quiet Mode, enables Audience Mode

Send Broadcast

Sends a broadcast message through the standard Moderator tools messaging feature. The message will be sent as if originating from the primary controller of the syllabus (such as the Instructor).

Fields and options

• Broadcast Message: Whatever you want the message to say.

Show Toast

Displays a temporary popup message on the screen that fades away after a few seconds.

Fields and options

• Target Audience: Choose from User or Everyone. Everyone is only available in Instructor-led courses.

• Toast Message: Whatever you want the message to say.

Start Quiz

Starts a quiz. The quiz must be part of the same course as the syllabus itself.

Fields and options

• Quiz Name: Select from active quizzes in the same course.

• Question Selection: Select “All,” or alternatively, select one or more individual questions. Quizzes can be given in whole or in parts, with the expectation that the other quiz questions will be answered later in the syllabus.

Stop Quiz

Cancels a quiz. Any late joiners to the class will not be presented with the quiz. It is recommended that you stop quizzes past the point at which it makes sense to allow students to continue working on them.

Fields and options

• Quiz Name: Select from active quizzes in the same course. Will do nothing if you didn't begin the quiz on a previous step.

Start Timer

Starts a countdown timer that will be visible on screen.

Fields and options

• Target Audience: Choose from User or Everyone. Everyone is only available in Instructor-led courses.

• Duration: How long the timer runs down, in hours and minutes.

• Description: An indication of what the timer is counting down. Will be displayed as a tooltip when users hover their mouse over the timer.

Start Waiver

Starts a waiver. The waiver must be part of the same course as the syllabus itself.

Fields and options

• Waiver Name: Select from active waivers in the same course.

Take Tour

If a Breakroom Tour Camera exists in the Region, this action will trigger the tour as if the Take Tour button normally found on the Start Here panel has been clicked. This works even if the Start Here panel is not present in the Region.

Fields and options

• No parameters required.

• Students can stop the tour at any time by pressing the Esc key on their keyboard.

Teleport

Teleports users to a different location within the Region. This uses the Crowd Manager controls built into the Moderator tools, and operates along the same principles.

Fields and options

• Target Audience: Choose from User or Everyone. Everyone is only available in Instructor-led courses.

• Location: Choose from common locations such as the Auditorium, or from custom locations by picking Other. Other locations can be any valid Breakroom voice zone or teleport target. If the target shows up under the Crowd Manager in the Moderator controls, then it can also be a location here. This includes multi-zone landmarks that scatter the students among multiple locations if desired.

View Image

Displays an uploaded image in a specified location. Images can be uploaded in advance through the Media Library on the Dashboard, or uploaded directly through this step.

Fields and options

• Image: Select or upload the image to display.

• Display Location:

  • Presentation: Displays the image on the main screen in the voice zone. This is the same screen that displays webcams and screenshares. The image will appear as another window alongside these, as if someone were sharing it. The display may appear 2D or 3D depending on whether the user has clicked the Screen Appearance button on the conference system controls.

  • Screen: Displays in a separate 2D window on the user's screen as part of an LMS Media window that appears when needed.

  • Placed: Indicates that the image was placed in the scene through some other means, such as a Breakroom Image Viewer item.

Visit Website

Displays or opens a website URL in the specified location.

Fields and options

• Website URL: The website you wish the students to read / view.

• Display Location:

  • Screen: Displays in a separate 2D window on the user's screen as part of an LMS Media window that appears when needed.

  • Placed: Indicates that the website is visible on a Breakroom Web Browser item already placed separately in the Region.

  • External: Opens the website URL in an external browser tab.

Watch Video

Plays an uploaded video in a specified location. Videos can be uploaded in advance through the Media Library on the Dashboard, or uploaded directly through this step.

Fields and options

• Video: Select or upload a video. Should be in MP4 format for best results.

• Display Location:

  • Presentation: Displays the image on the main screen in the voice zone. This is the same screen that displays webcams and screenshares. The image will appear as another window alongside these, as if someone were sharing it. The display may appear 2D or 3D depending on whether the user has clicked the Screen Appearance button on the conference system controls.

  • Screen: Displays in a separate 2D window on the user's screen as part of an LMS Media window that appears when needed.

  • Placed: Indicates that the image was placed in the scene through some other means, such as a Breakroom Video Player item.

Example syllabus walkthrough

The following tutorial offers step-by-step instructions for creating a syllabus and setting up related virtual objects in a Region. For this example...

This section is written for stakeholders with appropriate permissions who are already familiar with customizing the Breakroom platform. If you need help accessing the Region Editor, moving objects, or editing the RoomFurniture component, please consult the linked documentation before proceeding.